Sunday, 13 April 2008

TROUM interview

TROUM Interview

By KERVAL

From the ashes of MAEROR TRI Stefan Knappe (aka Barakah) and Martin Gitschel (aka Glitsch) have the idea of generate an experimental project focusing mostly into drone music, ambient and noise experimenting with sound and different instruments.so,in 1997 the act was established as a two man’s project reflecting the central manifestation of the unconscious bringing the listeners to a paradigmatical limbo to enter the dream’s realm. Using its musick as a direct path to unconscious labyrinths. In the follow conversation you shall find interesting points relating TROUM and in questions (11-13) information about Barakah’s record label DRONE recs. “These Are Dreams, dreamed By Dreamers, Who Are Awake”Is known both of you (Barakah & Glitsch) were active minds behinds MAEROR TRI in the past. In which way MAEROR TRI gave to you enough bases and ideas to the present act known as TROUM?MAEROR TRI gave us the basic skills & experiences to continue with TROUM: playing instruments, improvising in a group, working together, doing concerts. Learning by doing. Just trying out things.

Troum is a German word for dream. So, I ask you: is TROUM a subjective reality which is the result of your inner world? A world in which dreams and subconscious are integrated paths to your microcosm (You) as a part of macrocosm (Troum)?Yes, TROUM can be seen as an own "cosmos", based on our inner worlds. But inner worlds are always build from the "outer" world influences. So the outer world is re-presented in any "inner world" as well. At the end its all the same. Our "inner world", which leads to the music and macrocosm TROUM, may have impact on other individuals again, so the circle is closed. A circle of endless inter-penetrations.

Do you think with TROUM you have crossed your own subconscious manifestation I mean, you have entered to another realm of dreams, a more deep nexus between psyche, dreams, reality into a musical perspective?

It's hard to say, as we are talking about "Un"- or "Sub"-conscious things. It is something we can't say much about, but we realize how it affects us. And it leads to a musical manifestation (you could call it "sedimented yearning") that gives at least us the impression we get the "picture" of something very basic, archaic, "primitive" in ourselves when listening. There are definitely "unconscious elements" floating into our music and we don't really know how & why it happens. So our music could be called a "translated" form of subconscious matter, and it has our individual marks in it.....But that’s the case with any profound music or art - it shapes an own cosmos or dimension, and it is interfused by unconscious elements. As a recipient you can try to enter this special "dimension", the question if it will work for you is based on your own unconscious "history" and constitution, on prejudices and also more conscious reflections.

Man adapts its own reality through senses, does a perfect way for man to understand its own reality is to learn not to see but to observe?You mean to observe your own senses during their processing? I think this is what some people try to do (through meditation, etc.). It's definitely a way to perceive another form of reality. Maybe a more profound form of reality. But you can never have real "objectivity" and stand besides your own reality and really understand it. Our brains, which we need to observe reality, are only working because of sensual input. So its a circle again, you cannot fantasy yourself being "outside" and just watch the "rest" of the reality.

How would the perfect world in your own reality be and how would you represent it into a word, picture, number, from your creative perspective as artist?We don't think anymore a perfect world can exist at all. You will always find certain perspectives or views in a "perfect world" that would be wrong. A perfect world can only exist in your own "inner world", as a kind of pure existence. The simple absent-minded existence with no rational questioning, borders, or influences from outside. That's in a way "perfect". As soon as there are relations to other "objects", there will be conflicts, failures, etc.. Our own fantasies about a perfect world would go into a very floating, dreamlike state of things. There's no concrete symbolization we could think of. It would be more like a piece of (droning) music.

Is progression something necessary for TROUM? And what about originality? And how important it comes when creating music for TROUM?Yes, progression and originality are important, there's often this urge to do something you haven't done before, to go "further". On the other hand, a certain "repetitiveness" of the own established style is naturally for us, too. It's always a mixture of both, the "old" and the "new".

Is the principal goal in TROUM’s compositions to reach deeper states of mind which listeners can canalize and transform into a concrete reality?No, that would be a too much exorbitant approach to our music. If someone, through music, can reach a deeper state of mind it may affect his way of feeling and thinking in general life. To have experienced a kind of "treasure" inside, a deep emotional state that brings him nearer to his "core-being" so to say.

Which offers to your life, the semi-state trance of sleep/dream? And which experiences have awakens in you the need to explore more your deep dreams realms?It's basically the aim to explore deeper the own mysterious existence, to try to understand what could be "under the surface" of your own mind. We can't remember any specific experiences that lead to this urge. As said in the question before, if we understand more who we are and find the "treasure" of pure existence inside, it can have a healthy effect to really appreciate "life" per se, to progress and grow into the right direction.

TROUM bases its musick through instruments as guitar, accordion, bass, flute, djembe…so, I’m curious to know how the creative process for a determinate composition is ?.There are different ways of composing; it can be a phrase on an instrument, a re-working of field recordings, or just improvisation that stands at the beginning. Sometimes there's a specific idea or concept to create something special and we try to transform it into music, by imaging how the topic could sound like. Nowadays we do lots of collaborations with other musicians, so we start from the basic material we get. Both of us use the spiral symbol in our concepts.

So its time, to hear your opinion regarding spiral? Perhaps spiral is the reflection of your subconscious, a deep labyrinth for your creative/magickal skills?There are so many concepts & ideas associated with the spiral-symbol and its extremely old and archaic, that's what we like, complex inter-relations of meanings on different levels. More specifically, for us it stands as a symbol for the subconscious and for the aim to "go into something", to go further, deeper, where the secrets lie.

There was a necessity in your life to express yourself through a record label as DRONE Recs?[BarakaH]: Yes, sure. First there was the aim to release something of our band MAEROR TRI, but it grew inside me to promote the music that I like most, atmospheric / emotional "pure" sounds.

So, how is the process of selection of acts? And which is the best Ep released through Drone Recs in your opinion?[BarakaH]: There’s no "best EP", I hate rankings! They are all my number one! The process of selection is based on considering originality and coherence of the project itself and the music. And I like to release "newcomers", but it’s not a rule.

What’s coming for upcoming releases through Drone recs? Perhaps any South American act worth to check?

[BarakaH]: There are not many contacts I have in South America, sorry, and there's nothing planned at the moment. Next drones will be in example from SHRINE, a Bulgarian newcomer, and OSCAR MARTIN, a very interesting artist from Barcelona / Berlin.

How was the cooperation between TROUM and Christian Renou,for the great development the album has? Any future plans regarding a new album?

We worked on basic material Christian send us and added material to it... Future plans: We plan a new album for Beta-Lactam Ring Records (CD and do-LP) for the end of the year, and at the same time we start collaborations with many great artists: REUTOFF, URE THRALL, CISFINITUM, RAISON D'ETRE (for Brazilian Essence Records by the way).... but it all takes long time.

And what about TRANSGREDIENT records? Does it was generated with the sole purpose to release the TROUM’s albums? Any new releases on the corner?Yes, Transgredient is dedicated to Troum-releases or collaborations alone. Just out is TR-05: "AIWS", an album where we selected our favorite tracks over many years.

To close with this interview explain us the concrete reality through “these are dreams, dreamed by dreamers, who are awake?"

Thanks for your support and good luck with all your projects!!!This sentence basically expresses the apparent contradiction that you can become more "aware" through dreaming or trance-like states. As said above, to get a better picture of yourself and the reality, its necessary to "dive deeply" into things through different consciousness-states. It's similar to the slogan used with Drone Records these days: “Build dream-machines to wake us up!” On the other hand, it also stands for the wish to change our dreams into reality.

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